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What right did Pope Innocent III claim in the decretal Per venerabilem?
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Innocent III
Innocent III, fresco in the Abbey of San Benedetto, Subiaco, Italy.
In the 1202 decretal letter Per venerabilem ("Through Our Venerable Brother"), Pope Innocent III claimed the right to evaluate and judge imperial candidates in a contested election for the imperial throne.1
Although this claim was without precedent, it was subsequently incorporated into canon law. Innocent utilized this assertion during the power struggle between Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick to protect the integrity of the Papal States and ensure that the imperial title did not threaten papal interests, particularly regarding the kingdom of Sicily.1